


Bucket List

by Mattecat



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Depression, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Post-Season/Series 07, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-03-09 21:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18925009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattecat/pseuds/Mattecat
Summary: After finding Morro still in Ninjago, long after the Day of the Departed, Kai makes a deal with him: he'll allow Morro to possess him for two weeks, and borrow his body to do all the things the dead teenager didn't get to do when he was alive. On the way, Kai finds out some unsettling things about his missing sensei, and that he and Morro have more in common than they'd like to admit.





	1. The Rules

**Author's Note:**

> https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8t1y1mVud1qdzukq.png
> 
> so it turns out writing about sad boys working through their problems is one of my coping mechanisms and it helps with my depression. so does posting new fics, apparently.
> 
> anyway, hi, if you're unfamiliar with my works know that I'm very sympathetic towards morro while still trying to hold him accountable for all the shit he's done, so expect a Lot Of That in this fic. also expect a lot of characters dealing with mental health issues
> 
> (this is not a ship fic, I headcanon kai to be 23ish at the time of this fic and morro died at 16, if you ship them I don't want you interacting with me, thanks)

Kai is having a shit day.

He hasn't gotten a good night sleep in weeks. He's been too busy searching Ninjago for Wu. He split from Zane temporarily just because they've been each other's only company for months, and they both need some time with others, so Kai figured he'd go visit Lloyd. They made plans to hang out for a day or two, then get back to their search.

Except that's not what happens. What happens is that Lloyd has to cancel, Kai can't get in touch with Nya, and he's left with nothing to do in NInjago City while the sun is setting. He scores a free bed at the second motel he pulls the ninja card at – they are heroes, after all, so he has no idea why it didn't work at the first motel.

The room smells like cigarette smoke. Kai figures that's fitting enough for the Master of Fire. He doesn't bother with the TV or anything, just throws his bag in a corner, takes off his pants and jacket, and gets in the bed.

He wakes up in the middle of the night when a kid starts screaming. Kai sits straight up in bed and looks around. In the next room over, he can hear people moving, muffled words to soothe the child, but the crying continues. Kai groans and pulls the blanket over his head.

Then a chill grips his heart, his body shudders, and there's a presence in his head that's not his own –

"Oh, shit," says Morro.

Kai forces himself to sit up, his mouth struggling to form words. "What… what the fuck?" he spits out. "What are – why –"

The hold on Kai's body is released. Kai doesn't waste a moment – he throws himself out of bed and tackles Morro just as the ghost materializes in the room. Morro tries to speak. Kai punches him in the face.

"You've got a lot of fucking _nerve!_ " he shouts. "You little brat –"

Morro disappears. Kai tries to stand, but he can feel Morro in his head again, _possessing_ him, and he's not in control of his own damn body. He crashes to the ground and grips his head, trembling.

"I'm not doing anything!" Morro hisses with Kai's voice. "Leave me alone!"

_No!_ Kai shouts inside his head. _What are doing here?! You should be dead!_

"I am dead, asshole!"

_You should be_ deader! _Get out of my head!_

The memories hit him like a train. The Day of the Departed, when the ghosts of the past were summoned back in mannequins of themselves. Morro wakes up again long after the spell has faded and slips out of his mannequin and into a storage closet. A kid stumbles across him. Morro panics and possesses them, terrified of what will happen if he's discovered. He manages to hide in the kid's body until they get back to the motel.

The train veers off the tracks. Lloyd, his face contorted into an unfamiliar expression. Begging for help, fighting against this _monster_ that's controlling him, trying to kill them, trying to destroy Ninjago and all the sixteen realms. Kai gasps and chokes and reaches out blindly, his hands grasping empty air.

He can't fight anymore. Kai struggles for control for another few moments, then passes out.

* * *

Kai wakes up while he's eating breakfast. He doesn't comprehend anything is wrong at first, then he looks down at his cereal and realizes he doesn't remember _shit_ about how he got here, but he does remember what happened before he blacked out.

He stands up. Morro lets him.

There's no one else having breakfast at the motel, but the receptionist gives him a strange look from the desk. Kai takes a few deep breaths and sits back down.

"You better have a good explanation for this," he says in a low voice.

_It was an accident,_ Morro says. _I didn't know it was you._

"That's not a fucking explanation, dead boy." Kai puts a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. It has more sugar than he's used to. "Why are you here? In Ninjago?"

_I don't know!_

"Why are you still possessing me?"

_Because someone came into the room after you screamed, and I didn't want to be caught._

"Great," Kai hisses. "So why are you _still here,_ and why did you make me get breakfast?"

_I was hungry!_ Morro says indignantly.

"It's not your body! Ghosts don't get hungry!" Kai forces himself to eat another spoonful, as if he's having a normal breakfast. "Did you put extra sugar in this?"

_No!_

Kai stands up with his bowl and walks over to the receptionist. "Hey," he says. "Sorry to bother you, but did you see if I put sugar in my cereal?"

"Uh," says the receptionist. "Yeah, you did."

"Great, thanks."

He sits back down and resumes his conversation. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't call the others and have them get rid of you for good," he hisses.

_…I'm sorry._

Kai spits out milk. "What?!" he yells, jumping to his feet and earning a concerned look from the receptionist. He manages to keep control of himself, wipe his face, and sit back down, but anger is still burning inside him. He knows Morro can feel it, too.

_I'm sorry. For everything I did._ Morro lets his emotion flow out of his mind, and Kai can feel that he's sincere. _There's nothing that can excuse it. I did horrible things. You don't have to forgive me, all I want…_

He trails off. Kai groans and slumps back in his chair.

"The hell do you want?" he grumbles.

_I want to live._ Oh God, is he actually sad? He almost sounds like he's crying. _I want my life back. I – I wasted all of it on stupid things, and then I wasted being a ghost, too, and now I'm back and I don't know why and – and I just want to live again, even if I'm still dead._

Kai claps a hand over his eyes. "Fuck you," he says. "You don't deserve shit after what you did. You don't…"

Lloyd had mentioned it, once. That Morro was the same age as him when he died. And Kai saw his gross skeleton corpse, too, rotting in the Caves of Despair. Sixteen years old. Even if he went on to do horrible things as a ghost, he didn't deserve to die that young.

Goddammit, is he actually feeling _sympathy_ for this brat? Kai shakes his head.

"What do you want exactly?" he says.

_What?_ says Morro.

"If I let you go, and you went out and did whatever – assuming you wouldn't immediately get sprayed with a hose – what would you do?"

Morro thinks about the question for a long few moments. Kai tries to eat more, then pushes the bowl away. "Seriously, this cereal is disgusting. I'm getting cavities just looking at it."

_I don't know. I just want to do – what I didn't get to do when I was alive. But…_ If Morro wasn't just a presence in his head, Kai gets the impression he would be rubbing tears out of his eyes. _…you're right. No one would want me around. I can't get that back._

Kai is so, so tired.

"Where's my stuff?" he asks.

_In the room. I didn't touch it._

"Good." He gets up and dumps the cereal in the trash. "You are staying right here. If you try to take control, or leave, or do anything other than sit nicely in my head until I figure out what to do with you, I will be pissed, and I won't hesitate to call Nya and have her fix the problem. We're leaving this dump."

_…why?_

"Because I'm pretty sure the receptionist thinks I'm talking to myself, and I already apparently caused a scene last night –"

_No,_ Morro says. _Why are you letting me stay? Why aren't you calling the Water Ninja right now?_

Kai sighs. "Y'know," he says, "I don't like you. Not at all, really. But I feel bad for you. And you did help us on the Day of the Departed." And I need a change of pace, he thinks to himself.

_A change from what?_

Goddammit. "You weren't supposed to hear that, dipshit."

Morro retreats away from his awareness. Kai rolls his eyes and goes to get his bag.

* * *

Morro stays quiet until they're at some crappy park between apartment buildings. Kai sits on a bench and looks around for any eavesdroppers before he speaks. "You get two weeks," he says.

_Two weeks for what?_ Morro says.

"Two weeks to do whatever the hell you want." Kai cracks a smile. "You can't do anything by yourself without someone dragging out the garden hose, right? Use my body. I'm going to let you possess me for two weeks, and you can do all the things you didn't get to do when you were alive."

_You're joking,_ Morro says. _You just want me gone._

"Oh, I'm dead serious. Like you!"

Morro doesn't appreciate the joke. Kai can feel his anger flare up. _Don't be funny with me!_

"No fun allowed, got it. Anyway, I'm going to set some rules." Kai holds up a finger. "Rule one, whenever I ask for control, you have to give it to me. No questions, no arguments, it's my fucking body." He extends another finger. "Rule two, it's my fucking body, so don't change how I look. It'll help you more if everyone thinks I'm still me – being the Red Ninja has some perks, you know!"

_Why are you doing this?_ Morro asks.

"Rule three, don't do anything to deliberately hurt anyone, or anything so stupid it accidentally hurts someone. Rule four, I don't care who asks, tell no one. Rule five – hey, hey, hey!"

He can feel Morro digging into his mind, trying to find a reason for this. Kai hisses air through his teeth and grabs his head. "Rule five, don't do whatever this shit is!" he snarls. "Why do you need to know?"

Morro backs off, but Kai can feel anger coming off him waves. _People don't do nice things for nothing!_ he snaps. _You want something from me, I know it! People don't do anything nice unless they want something! You're all the same!_

Kai snorts. "You're right I want something," he says. "I want a goddamn break. I'm sick and tired of having to figure out what I'm doing today, where I'm going, what to do with my life – fuck it! Your turn!"

_You're doing this for_ fun?

"I feel bad for you, remember?" Kai crosses his arms and slouches on the bench. "Not that I should, with everything you did – but I do, so you get two weeks. After two weeks? You're on your own. So make this count, and stop questioning it."

Morro doesn't say anything for a moment.  _What was rule five?_ he asks.

"Told you, not trying to read my memories like the latest bestseller –"

_No, you were going to say something else was rule five before I started doing that._

"Oh. Right." Kai takes a deep breath. "Rule six, don't say anything about the L-word."

_Lesbian?_

"What? No, you little shit, you know who I'm talking about."

He doesn't want to say Lloyd's name, doesn't want to acknowledge him at all. Isn't it such a betrayal, that Kai is letting Morro do this? After what possession did to Lloyd? Isn't so horrible, that he's willing to give Morro this chance? Why would he do this? What kind of person is he?

_Oh,_ Morro says. _Right. I won't._

"That's it." Kai forces himself to relax. "Yep! That's it. Go for it."

He waits for Morro to take control, and keeps waiting. He's uncomfortably aware of his leg bouncing, of all his little tics and quirks. He frowns. "Well?" he says.

Then he stands up.

Morro looks at his hands – Kai's hands – then looks around the park. "Okay," he says, in Kai's voice. "Okay. I'm going… I'm going to…"

He shakes his head. Kai presses him wordlessly to continue. What does Morro want to do with this new body?

"I'm going to get ice cream," Morro decides.

And for what won't be the last time, Kai wonders what sort of sad, sad life this dead boy led.


	2. Ice Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little shorter than I want it to be, but oh well. I can only micromanage my chapter lengths to a point before it negatively affects the story.

Kai doesn't know where the nearest ice cream stand is. Morro picks a direction and starts walking. They find a busy street that could have something, but when he sees all the people, Morro hesitates.

_Just go,_ Kai says. _You're gonna attract more attention if you act suspicious._

_I know,_ Morro snaps back.

_Huh. You can talk inside my head even when you're the one in control?_

_Of course. This isn't my first time possessing someone._

Kai bristles. _Rule six, remember?_

_Right. Sorry._

Morro forces Kai's body out into the street. Barely anyone even looks at him. Morro scans the storefronts as he walks, turning his head right and left – it's odd, not being in control of his head and eye movements. Kai feels like he's watching a movie that's filmed really, really badly.

"There's one!" Morro says out loud. Sure enough, he's spotted an ice cream shop across the street. Morro crosses without looking, to Kai's alarm.

_Wait!_ Kai shouts.

Morro stops in the middle of the road.  _What?_

_Cars, dumbass!_

A loud honk makes them jump. The car slows to a stop a few feet away from them and honks again. Morro stands there frozen for long enough that Kai has to grab control and finish crossing.

"I told you," he mutters, "rule three, don't do stupid shit."

_I thought rule three was not to hurt anyone,_ Morro says.

"Yeah, and guess what? That includes not being a dumbass and getting me hit by a car!"

_Sorry. I forgot about them. They didn't exist when I was alive._

Kai goes over the timeline in his head. Acronix had been in a time vortex for forty years, Wu took in Morro before then, and if Morro before the Serpentine War…

_I've been dead for fifty years,_ Morro says. _Maybe longer. Are you done?_

"Goddamn, not all my thoughts are public access!"

_It's not my fault! You think too loud!_

They've reached the ice cream shop. Kai stands in front of the door doing nothing until Morro gets the hint and takes control again. He flinches at the chime the door makes when it's opened.

The person behind the counter smiles at him. "Welcome! What can I get for you?"

Morro turns around and walks right back out.

_The hell?_ Kai says. _I thought you wanted ice cream._

_I can't get ice cream if she sees me,_ Morro says.

Kai realizes where this is going. _Okay, rule seven. No stealing without my permission._

"What!" Morro exclaims, midway through creeping behind the shop. _How else am I supposed to get ice cream?_ he continues silently.

_Buying it! I'm not broke! I have like…_ Kai digs in his memory. _…twenty bucks!_

Morro takes out his wallet to check. _You have sixteen._

_So? That's enough! Go buy your goddamn ice cream._

Morro walks back out to the front of the shop and re-enters. "I want chocolate," he says to the lady, who is staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Okay," she says. "Regular chocolate?"

"Are there any other kinds?"

"Yep!" She points to the cartons of ice cream behind the glass counter. "We have regular chocolate, we have double chocolate, with is chocolate with chocolate chips, and then we have ultimate chocolate…"

Kai catches a flash of memory that isn't his own. A younger Morro is pulling on a man's sleeve – on Wu's, Kai realizes – and begging him for ice cream. Over and over, Wu refuses. "It's not good for you," he says. "You have to eat healthy. You have to be big and strong, remember?"

"I want ice cream!" Morro whines, pointing at the cart. "Sensei, please!"

"You have to be a big, strong ninja, remember?"

"I can have ice cream, too!"

"You have to be strong enough to protect Ninjago, remember?"

That's the only thing that quiets him. Morro lets go of Wu's sleeve and looks down at the ground. "Okay, Sensei," he grumbles.

Wu puts a hand on Morro's chin and tilts his head up to smile at him. "I'll buy you something before we go back," he says, "but nothing unhealthy. Okay, Morro?"

Morro manages a smile back. "Okay."

* * *

When Kai wakes up again, Morro has a large waffle cone with chocolate ice cream mixed with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and brownie bits. He bites into it while he walks down the street, which hurts Kai's teeth, and he takes control long enough to grimace.

_Oh, you're awake,_ Morro says. _Can I finish my ice cream?_

Kai rolls his eyes and retreats back into his head. _That's not how you're supposed to eat it,_ he says. _What do you mean, awake? Was I asleep?_

Morro crunches a chunk of the cone. _Sometimes the possessed person goes deeper into their own head, and then they're not conscious of what's going on outside,_ he says. _I mean, I hope it was your own head. You weren't looking at my memories, were you?_

_I was totally looking at your memories,_ Kai says.

Morro groans. _The ice cream one, right?_

_Yep._

Morro takes another bite of ice cream and says nothing.

_You know,_ Kai says, _it's hard to understand how much you hate Sensei Wu, if the worst he did was not give you ice cream._

_That wasn't the worst and you know it,_ Morro snaps.

_Still! He gave you a home!_

_I was better off on the street!_ Morro grips the cone hard enough to crack it. _He wasn't as great as you think he is._

_I don't think he's that great, honestly, but at least –_

_I'm making a rule,_ Morro says. _We don't talk about Wu._

_You don't get to make rules, pal. What are you gonna do if I break that rule? Leave? You have nowhere to go!_

With a jolt, Kai realizes he's back in control of his body. For a moment he wonders if Morro did actually leave, but no, he can still feel the ghost in the back of his mind, simmering with anger. Kai sighs.

"Fine," he says. "Rule eight, we don't talk about Wu. Are you going to finish this? Because it's way too sweet for me."

* * *

Morro runs out of things to do after the ice cream.

_What do you want to do?_ Kai asks, while Morro wanders aimlessly though Ninjago City. _You've got to have some ideas._

_I don't know what I want,_ Morro responds. _Everything feels different. A lot of what I remember is gone._

While they walk, Kai spots a bookstore. _Hang on, let me –_

He takes control and goes inside. It's a fairly large store, and Kai can feel Morro taking in the sights. _Why are we here?_ he asks.

"'Cause –" Kai stops himself when he walks by a group of customers. "Goddamn, you need to teach me how to talk to you without actually talking, I'm going to embarrass myself."

_It's not that hard. You do it already when you think too loud. Try it._

Kai imagines his thoughts projecting inside his head. _Like this?_

_Yes._

_Cool._ Kai stops walking to scan the bookshelves. _We're here to get ideas for what to do,_ he says. _There's tons of books on like, stuff to do before you die. You're just getting to it a little late._

He spots the book he was looking for and pulls it out. Morro reads the title with him. _1000 places to see before you die?_ he says incredulously. _We're not going to see a thousand places in two weeks._

_Honestly, I'm surprised they found a thousand different places in Ninjago._ Kai flips to a random page. _Mega Monster Amusement Park! That's definitely a sight to see._

_I don't know it._

_Oh ho ho, you'll see._ Kai puts the book away. _C'mon, if we go now, we can spend basically the whole day there._

Wait, dammit – he had sixteen dollars, and a good chunk of it was just spent on ice cream. Kai frowns. "Give me a minute," he mumbles, taking out his phone and sending a series of texts. "Zane handled the money before, so I don't have a ton to my name…"

hey pix >  
split from zane for a bit >  
if I don't take a break from searching im going to lose my mind >  
gonna need some money >

The response comes instantaneously – Pixal is an AI, after all.

< A break? For how long?  
< Zane made it sound like you would only be apart for a few days.

idk >  
was thinking a week but we'll see how it goes >  
anyway I got like ten bucks to my name >  
had to pull the ninja card at a motel last night >

< I'll see what I can do.  
< Don't spend it all at once.  
< My father is being very gracious by funding your search.  
< Don't spend his money frivolously.

borg's a billionaire >  
he has BILLIONS of DOLLARS >  
he will not give a shit if I spend a couple hundred >

Pixal doesn't respond, but after a minute, he gets a notification that money has been transferred to his bank account. He checks the amount and grins. "Alright!" he says out loud. To Morro, he adds, _We've got enough for the two weeks if we're careful. Oh man, I wish I could see your face when you go on a roller coaster for the first time!_

_A what?_

_I'll let you drive the body when we get there. Let's go, ghosty!_


	3. Free Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to put a note at first bc I don't have much to say. this chapter is a little more intense than the last ones. enjoy your stay!

The bus to Mega Monster Amusement Park isn't running.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Kai exclaims while a mother covers her child's ears. "Undergoing renovations – fuck this! I bet the park isn't even open! Damn!"

 _Are you done swearing?_ Morro says.

 _No, asshole, I'm going to stand here for the rest of the two weeks and say every swear word I know._ Kai turns and leaves the station. _Dammit. We'll do it tomorrow, I guess._

Morro isn't happy. Kai can feel his discontent as they walk. He can't say he's happy, either; this whole "letting Morro possess him" thing isn't going as well as he… well, no, he didn't think about how it would go. Maybe that was his first problem.

 _Wait,_ Morro says. _Why don't we go when it's closed?_

"'Cause that's illegal," Kai says out loud. There's no one around to hear him; they've reached an abandoned parking lot near the outskirts of the city, the store that was there now boarded up. It might've been a supermarket, once. "How about we break into this old place instead? That's also illegal, but in a way no one cares about."

_It's not against any of the rules!_

"I mean, it's illegal, That's by definition against the rules."

Morro pushes for control. Kai doesn't give it to him. _Come on,_ Morro whines. _We can fly there on your dragon, and then we can do whatever we want! I want to see the amusement park!_

Kai rolls his eyes. "You're acting like a bratty kid. I mean, I guess that's what you are, but…" He shrugs. "Sure, why not?"

He's been itching to use his powers. He and Zane didn't need them much while they traveled – turns out, looking for information doesn't involve much fighting. They used their dragons occasionally to get from place to place, but most of the time, they took the train.

With all that frustration, all that pent-up energy, it's easy to summon his dragon.

Energy rushes through him, and Kai grins, feeling his elemental powers take form. He jumps up and the dragon appears beneath him, beating its wings, hissing fire through its teeth. Kai wordlessly commands it to take flight.

He can hardly hear his own laughter over the wind howling past him. Morro's consciousness presses up against his, and for a few moments, it's as if they're both in control, shrieking in delight as their dragon does loops in the sky, barely remembering their destination. Breathless, Kai looks down at the dragon, and –

This isn't his dragon.

The elemental fire dragon is red, flames flickering between its scales. This dragon is grey, like ash, and churning beneath its translucent scales is a burning cyclone, green fire swirling in its stomach.

Kai's stomach drops, and the dragon disappears.

* * *

Morro never learns to summon his elemental dragon.

He tries, and tries, and tries, practicing when Wu tells him to, and then practicing in secret. One day, he goes to the edge of the cliff the monastery stands on and looks down at the clouds below. Maybe he just needs the right push, he thinks. Maybe, if he puts himself in a situation where he _needs_ to summon his dragon, needs to reach his true potential…

Wu catches him before he jumps.

"You can't sustain your dragon in times of high stress!" he yells, while Morro sobs and explains through tears what he was about to do. "You would've failed, and you would've died! I can't let that happen to you, Morro!"

He pulls Morro into a tight hug while the boy wails and presses his damp face into Wu's shoulder. They stay like that for a long while, until Wu lets go and brings Morro inside for dinner.

* * *

Kai snaps himself awake.

It can't have been more than a few seconds, because he's still falling, as opposed to a bloody mess on the ground. He gasps and throws his arms out in an attempt to control his fall, and manages to steady himself enough to see the the landscape below him rapidly approaching. He mentally reaches for his dragon, tries to focus his power, but he's afraid, he's panicking, he's going to _die_ –

 _Give me control!_ Morro yells in his head.

"What?!" Kai yells.

_I'm the Master of Wind, dumbass! I can fly!_

Kai releases control of his body before Morro finishes talking.

The howling wind quiets. Morro twists around in the air until he's looking up at the sky. The wind wraps around them, cradles them, and their fall slows. Kai's heart is pounding, despite how calm Morro's actions are – how close are they to the ground? When are they going to land? They're still falling fast, they could still –

They're on the ground.

Morro takes a few deep breaths, lying in the dirt. A couple blades of grass are swaying next to him. Kai tries to figure out where they are; he knows the amusement park is surrounded by empty fields, so not being in the forest is a sign they were heading in the right direction, but then again, they didn't get very far before he freaked out.

"Why did you freak out?" Morro asks.

 _I dunno,_ Kai grumbles. _I just saw your dragon, and –_

Morro sits up. "It wasn't my dragon," he says. "I was never able to summon my dragon. That had to have been yours."

 _It wasn't mine!_ he yells. _I wouldn't have lost control like that if it was mine!_

"Then whose was it?"

_Not fucking mine!_

Morro lets himself fall back on the ground. _Get up,_ Kai tells him. _You're gonna get me all dirty._

"You can handle a little dirt."

_You still want to go to the amusement park?_

"You're remarkably calm about almost dying."

_Eh. Used to it._

Morro sits up again and looks down at his hands. Kai's hands. "Why are you doing this?" he asks. "You don't have any reason to be nice to me."

 _You think I'm being nice to you?_ Kai says. _I dunno, man, I just want a break from my shitty life. This is the closest I can get to going on autopilot._

Morro frowns. "You don't like living?"

Kai laughs. _Of course you'd phrase it like that – living's great, dead boy, but that doesn't mean I don't want it to be better. I said I wanted a break, not to end it._

Morro gets to his feet and squints into the distance. "What's that?" he asks, pointing. Kai figures that's his way of saying the conversation's over.

 _Might be the amusement park,_ he says. _Hard to tell, though._

"I'm not going to summon that dragon again, whoever it belongs to." Morro shrugged. "I guess we're walking."

* * *

Half an hour into the walk, they find a small train stop, manned by a kind old person who lets them fill their water bottle and wait for the next train. Morro doesn't make conversation, and chooses to sit outside. Kai notices how his eyes keep flicking to the building where the person works. _What,_ Kai says. _You worried they're gonna realize I'm possessed?_

 _No,_ Morro says. _Maybe. I don't know._

_I guarantee you, the only people who'll notice I'm acting weird are the other ninja, and if we run into them, I'm not letting you talk to them anyway._

Morro takes another drink of water and says nothing.

Eventually, the train arrives. Kai takes control to talk the conductor into giving him a ride. "We're headed in that direction, sure," the conductor says when he tells him their destination. "Park's closed right now, though. You got business there or something?"

"Or something, yeah," Kai says. "Don't worry, I'll leave everything the way I found it."

He laughs. "Hey, you don't gotta reassure me! If you do leave a mess, though, don't tell the owner I gave you a free ticket."

Morro idles in the back of Kai's mind during the ride. Kai takes the time to chat with the conductor about what the ninja have been up to. "We're still looking for our sensei," he says. "It's been months, but honestly? He was lost in time itself, so who knows when he'll show up."

"And nothing's threatening Ninjago?" the conductor asks.

"Not yet," Kai says. "Still, there's always something. I'm on a break, though, so hopefully things will stay quiet for a few weeks."

"Don't count on it!"

They both laugh. "So where're you from?" Kai asks, for lack of any better conversation topics.

"Oh," says the conductor, and his demeanor changes. "Well… I've been living in the city, when I'm not riding the train, but originally… I'm from Stiix."

"Oh," says Kai, feeling Morro stir in his head. "That's, uh…"

"I know," the conductor says with a half smile. "Don't look like the type of guy who was raised there, do I?"

"No, that's not –" Kai coughs and tries again. "I was just… it's a shame, what happened to it."

The conductor relaxes. "Yeah," he says. "Sure was. Some people blame you ninja for it, but I don't. I'm sure you did the best you could against… whatever that was."

"The Preeminent," Kai says without thinking. "I mean, that's what she – it was called."

"Huh," the conductor says. "What, was it a person?"

Kai shakes his head. "God, no. Just some monster. A pretty bad one, but… just some monster. Y'know, I didn't catch your name…"

He manages to steer the conversation away from what happened to Stiix, and they spend the rest of the ride talking about nothing in particular.

* * *

They reach the amusement park. As predicted, it's closed for renovations, but there aren't any workers there to renovate. Morro uses his elemental powers to jump the gate and land on the other side. _Huh,_ Kai says. _Guess everyone's gone home for the day._

 _Is it that late?_ Morro asks.

 _Kind of?_ Kai tries to check his phone, before remembering he's not the one in control. It's unsettling, signaling his brain to move and his body not responding. He can't imagine how it would feel to be possessed against his will, to fight and fight and be taunted and threatened and – and – and –

Morro checks his phone for him. "It's six," he says out loud. _That train took a while._

 _Sure did,_ says Kai. _Go do what you want. I'm checking out._

_What?_

_I'm done thinking about shit for the day._ Kai retreats into his own head. _Gonna do that weird sleep thing you talked about. You have fun._

 _Are the rides working?_ Morro frowns. _What am I supposed to do?_

 _Figure it out yourself,_ Kai says. _I'm done. Goodnight._

As the sensations of his body fade away, he hears Morro ask, _Did I do something wrong?_ and Kai doesn't care enough to answer.


	4. Fun Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you must be above this height to ride, and two kids in a trenchcoat don't count

This isn't a memory. Kai's not sure what this is, sitting in front of his parent's blacksmith shop. There's an amusement park on the horizon, and as Kai watches it, he can see details he wouldn't normally see from this distance. The carts rushing down the roller coaster with no one inside, the empty ferris wheel, the lights all shining bright for nobody.

Someone sits down next to him.

"Hey," says Morro.

Kai squints at him. He almost doesn't recognize the ghost, because here, he doesn't look like a ghost. He's solid, alive, no longer a translucent green. His clothes don't have as many holes in them as they did, not that it matters, when he's possessing someone else. "Hey," says Kai. "What is this?"

"A dream." Morro leans his head back and looks up at the stars. "I know you said I could do what I wanted, but I don't want to push your body too hard. You didn't get a good night sleep last night."

"Ha! And whose fault is that?"

"I know," Morro says. "That's why I'm saying, I wanted you to rest because otherwise, once I leave, you're going to be a wreck."

Kai snorts. "Like I'm not already."

"No, I mean, you'll pass out, and –" Morro shakes his head. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's a fucking dream, man, I don't know."

"You're lucid enough to answer my question," Morro says. "I don't like how you've answered so far. You say you need a break. That you hate your life. That's not a good enough reason."

"Didn't use those exact words." Kai looks away. "It doesn't matter to you, anyway."

"Are you tricking me?"

Kai whips his head back to stare at him. "What?"

Morro meets his wide eyes with a glare. "This is a trick," he says. "You're just – leading me into a trap, and the other ninja will be there, and I'll be locked up or sent back to the Departed Realm or –"

"It's not a goddamn trick, alright?" Kai interrupts. "If it was a trick, it would've been over at breakfast. I'm not calling the others if you don't give me a reason to."

"I'm not stupid!" Morro snaps. "You're lying to me! You want something from me, and once you get it, you'll just – just – dump me!"

"No," Kai says, a hot anger rising up inside him. "That's what you do, remember? I'm not like you, shithead."

"Oh, so you're being the better person, huh?" Morro takes a fast, shaky breath. "Nobody does nice things for nothing!" he shouts. "Nobody! Not me, not you, not Sensei, and not anyone else!"

He sobs. Kai grits his teeth and looks away while Morro cries. He could walk away – or could he? They're in the same head. Can't get much closer than that.

Morro is still going through his tears. "You can be as sad and pathetic as you want," he chokes out, "and no one will be nice to you. Did you know? You can only beg for food a couple times in the same place before people get sick of you. Sometimes not even once. If they won't be nice to a fucking – a starving fucking homeless kid, then who would – why would – why would you –"

"I already told you I'm not doing this for you," Kai says.

He keeps his head turned away. He can still hear Morro's irregular breathing. "Look," he says, "you can leave anytime you want. Doesn't have to be when the two weeks are up. If you think this is a trick, why haven't you left?"

Morro doesn't answer. Kai sighs. "If you're gonna ask me questions, I get to ask questions back," he says. "So why are _you_ doing this? Why are you still here?"

"Because I want to be alive," Morro whispers. "I want to be happy. Even if it's just two weeks, or less, or if you're just tricking me – I'm happy I got that ice cream."

"Well," Kai says, "stop pissing me off, and maybe we'll get more ice cream."

There's a sound coming from the amusement park, some sort of music playing in the distance. "I should go," Morro says.

"Like, for real?"

"No." Morro's voice sounds farther away, like he's walked some distance. "You're not really sleeping when we're talking like this. You'll get better rest if I leave you alone."

"Cool," says Kai. "Don't go peeking into my memories while I sleep. Rule five, remember?"

No answer. When Kai looks back, Morro's gone.

* * *

Kai really should've asked where Morro found a place to sleep, because when he wakes up, he's stretched out behind the counter of a carnival booth. He groans and stretches out, his body aching from sleeping on the hard ground. "Couldn't have found anywhere better, huh?" he mutters, sitting up. "I'm gonna be sore for days."

_Sorry,_ Morro says. _So what do we do here?_

It's six in the morning, which is way too early for Kai's tastes, but if he's awake, so be it. _We might have a few hours before workers come in,_ he says, climbing over the counter and walking into the center of the amusement park. _I want to at least show you what a roller coaster's like._

He turns a corner and freezes.

"Oh, crud," Jay says. "Didn't expect – okay, uh, this isn't what it looks like."

Jay is dressed in casual clothes, frozen in front of a vending machine. He has two cans of soda held under his arm, and appears to have been reaching for a third when he was caught. Kai feels a burst of distress from Morro – he quickly reassures him. _I had no idea he was here, I swear. Just let me handle things._

Kai laughs. "Guess we had the same idea, huh?" he says.

"Stealing from the vending machine?" Jay says.

"No, dummy, sneaking into the amusement park. Have you been here all night?"

Jay relaxes and grabs the third soda. "I just got here," he says. "What're you up to? Zane said you were taking a break."

"Yeah, just for a week or two." Kai shrugs. "I dunno. I'll figure it out, see how I feel. I gave myself a hard limit of two weeks, though, so even if I feel like shit at the end of that, it's back to searching. How about you?"

"Cole's taking a day to visit his dad," Jay says. "I had nothing to do, so I came here. Man, I'm glad I ran into you! Spending the day here alone would've been really, _really_ sad."

"God, tell me about it." Kai looks around. "Aren't the workers gonna be here soon, though?"

"It's the weekend. They have the day off. I checked, don't worry. Here, catch!"

Jay tosses him a soda. Kai fumbles it and it falls to the ground. "Ouch," says Jay with a laugh. "Make sure to open it slowly."

_Why would you have to open it like that?_ Morro asks.

Kai cracks a smile. _I'll show you later._

To Jay, he says, "So what's the plan?"

"I'm raiding the machines for breakfast," Jay says. "All the carts and stands and junk are empty. Guess they don't want the food going bad while the park is closed. After that, we've got the park to ourselves, and a certain someone has the elemental power of _fun._ " He grins. "So! Let's go see if one of these has candy or something, 'cause all I've found so far is soda."

Normally, Kai thinks Jay is kind of annoying, but they're friends enough that they can hang out every so often. _This is good,_ he says to Morro. _Jay can work the rides, so we don't have to, like, go stealing the keys or anything, and it's a lot less weird than sneaking into an amusement park alone. You can have control on the rides, and I'll take over whenever I need to talk._

Morro doesn't respond. Kai can feel his anxiety prickling at his mind. _It's not a trick,_ Kai says. _I didn't think he'd be here. But as long as he is, we might as well make the most of it, huh?_

"So what've you been doing?" Jay says. "I mean, sure, you're on a break, but honestly, you look like crap. What's happened?"

Kai shrugs. "Nothing happened, I just haven't looked in a mirror for, like, a day."

"Maybe you should, 'cause you look real bad." Jay runs a few steps to another vending machine. "Sweet! Alright, Kai, what kind of candy do you want?"

Kai rolls his eyes and takes a look at his options. _What d'ya think, Morro?_

_I don't know what any of these are,_ Morro says.

_Just pick one before Jay gets suspicious._

_That one._

Kai relays the order to Jay, who nods and gestures for him to move aside. "Pastry's not a bad choice," he says, sending an arc of electricity into the machine. "I'm just getting chips and chocolate. Oh yeah, check the sell-by date when they come out. I don't think anyone's been here to stock these in a while."

Kai shakes up the soda that fell on the ground while Jay isn't looking, to Morro's confusion. _Don't worry about it,_ Kai says.

Once they get their food, they sit at a picnic table to eat it. Morro is reluctant to take control when Kai offers it. _Chill, it's just Jay,_ Kai says. _I'll step in if anything goes weird. Now make sure to open that soda really fast._

Morro pushes the soda aside and tears open the pastry wrapping with his teeth. Jay laughs. "Man, Kai, you're sure hungry!"

"Yeah," Morro says, and stuffs it in his mouth. Jay snorts soda out his nose.

Kai ends up opening the soda himself, just to show Morro what it does. The soda sprays out of the can and nearly hits Jay, who scoots back in his seat. "Kai! I said to open it slowly!"

Kai laughs. "Are you done with breakfast?" he says, taking a sip of what's left in the can. "I wanna hit the rides already!"

Jay nods, crumpling up his empty bag of chips. "Sure! Which one first?"

* * *

They start with the merry-go-round. Morro doesn't have much opinion on it beyond thinking the sculptures are pretty. After Jay shuts it back down, they move on to a spinning room where they stick to the wall while the floor drops out from underneath them, which Morro has a decidedly negative opinion on.

"Is that supposed to be fun?" he blurts out when it's over. Kai takes back control to laugh it off, but Jay doesn't seem bothered.

"Not your type, huh?" he says. "Me too, it freaks me out when I can barely move. Let's do that one next."

As planned, Kai lets Morro have control on the rides. It takes a few of them for Morro to relax, to grin and laugh breathlessly as he and Jay are spun around and around. Kai's enjoying himself, too, even if his senses are dulled when he's not controlling his body.

"I'm just about done," Jay announces, after what must've been a dozen rides.

Kai nods. "You up for one more?"

"Sure, which one?"

At the roller coaster, Kai waits at the cars while Jay fiddles with the controls. "What's taking so long?" he calls out. "We don't have all day!"

"Uh, we literally do have all day, Kai!" The coaster hums to life. "But whatever. You can get in now!"

Kai gets in and pulls the bar down in front of him. The cars start moving, and with a jolt, Kai realizes Jay is still at the controls. "Hey, buddy? What're you doing?"

"Nothing!" Jay yells back. "I told you, I'm done! It's safer if someone's manning the controls, anyway! Don't worry about it!"

"That's like, the most worrying thing you could've said!" Kai sighs. _Alright, Morro, here's the big one._

_What's Jay doing?_ Morro says.

_I don't think he's gonna play any tricks on us. You ready?_

While the cars climb up the first hill, Morro takes control and breathes deep. "We already went on a bunch of others," he says, more to himself than Kai. "This will be fun, too."

_Sure will be,_ Kai says as they reach the top. _Hang on!_

They tip down the slope. Morro starts screaming.

Jay sends them around the track twice. Morro shrieks with delight as they go through the loops, into the tunnel, lets his hands fall above his head when they go upside-down. When it's over, he doesn't get out right away, breathing hard, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"Want to go again?" Jay calls from the controls.

"Yes!" Morro shouts before Kai can stop him.

* * *

Jay gives them three rides total before he quits. "Honestly, Kai, that was awesome," he says while they walk out. "I'm gonna go see a movie. Feel like coming along?"

Kai shakes his head. "Nah," he says, "I've got other stuff to do. Was pretty great hanging out with you, though! You think anyone will notice we were here?"

"Nah. I mean, maybe, but what're they gonna do? It's not like we broke anything."

"We did steal that junk food…"

"That's the vendor's problem, not ours."

They part ways at the entrance. With a crackle of electricity, the elemental lightning dragon takes form and crouches down so Jay can climb on. "See you later, Kai!" he says. "Good luck with the search!"

"You too!" Kai waves back. "Tell Cole I said hi!"

Once Jay's gone, Kai sighs and digs in his bag for his water bottle. "Damn, I drank all that soda, and I'm still thirsty. Guess Nya wasn't lying when she said it wasn't hydrating…"

Morro speaks up. _Thank you._

"Ha! What's that for? I mean, you're damn welcome, but…"

_You're not tricking me,_ Morro says. _If you were, you would've had Jay get rid of me. You're really serious about this._

Kai can't help but roll his eyes. "I've been serious this whole time, yeah. What, did you just figure that out?"

_What are we going to do now?_

"Dunno! Up to you! We could go see somewhere else that's new to you, but it probably won't be as fun as this was. Is there somewhere you wanted to see but never got to…?"


	5. Old Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first warning

They reach Ninjago City again around noon. _What do you want to go to the library for?_ Kai asks while Morro walks his borrowed body down the street. _I thought we were going to do something fun, dude._

_You said I could do whatever I wanted for two weeks,_ Morro says, _and I want to go to the library._

_Man, I can't believe how boring you are. First all you want is ice cream, and now the library? I chose the only fun thing we've done so far._

Morro ignores him. _Which way do we go now?_ he asks.

_Go left._

Morro crosses the street and heads left for half a block until Kai stops him. _I was fucking with you, go back and turn right._

_What!_

Kai cackles inside his head while Morro silently fumes.

Eventually, they reach the library. Morro hesitates before walking to the clerk. She looks up and smiles. "Oh! You're Kai, right?"

"Uh, yeah," says Morro. Kai doesn't try to suppress his amusement.

"What brings you in today?"

"I'm looking for information on previous elemental masters."

That's not as funny as Kai thought it would be. He holds back on commenting, waiting to see how the conversation goes.

"Alright," she says. "Which family? I know you're the Master of Fire –"

"No," Morro says. "I mean – yes, but I'm looking for the previous Masters of Wind."

"Oh. Hm. Let me look it up."

She turns to the computer and starts typing all-too-slowly for Morro's liking. Kai can feel his anxiety as he taps his fingers on the counter. _Looking for your parents or something?_ Kai asks. _No offense, but they're probably dead by now._

_I know,_ Morro says. _That's not what I'm trying to find out._

"I'm not finding much," the clerk says. "You said Wind, right? From what I'm seeing… no, there's no books here."

Morro swallows. "There's nothing on any of them?"

"No books about the Wind bloodline specifically, no." She frowns. "You might have some luck in books about the history of Ninjago, but there's not a lot of books on elemental masters. I mean, I know you and the other ninja are pretty public, but most of them aren't –."

"Where do I find those books?" Morro interrupts.

"Here, I'll show you. I can't leave the desk, but if you go to the second floor and turn left…"

Morro thanks her and follows her directions to the history section. He picks a book at random and flips through it. _Try reading the covers,_ Kai tells him. _You'll have better luck that way._

"I'm not gonna find anything," he mutters under his breath. "It was stupid. Maybe I'm stupid."

_Well, I'm not gonna argue with that._

Morro slams the book shut and puts it back on the shelf. _Hey,_ Kai says, _we can still try to find something. What do you remember about your parents?_

_Nothing. I ran away when I was… six, I think? I don't know. I had to guess my age when Sensei found me._

_No memory at all?_

_We lived in a forest, or something. There were a lot of trees._

_Huh,_ Kai says. _Too bad we can't go ask Wu what he knows, 'cause –_

"I wouldn't talk to Wu even if he was still around," Morro snaps.

_Just saying, he'd be the most likely to know about the previous Masters of Wind. Him or Garmadon, and we can't exactly talk to Garmadon anymore._

Morro marches Kai's body back down the stairs and to the clerk again. "Do you have any old books?" he asks. "Like, from the days of the First Spinjitzu Master."

The clerk sucks in air through her teeth. "Well, we have some… but they're in the basement, and we're not supposed to allow anyone in there."

Another clerk speaks up from behind her, an older woman. "Especially not the Master of Fire."

_Jeez!_ Kai says. _She makes it sound like I can't control my powers. What's her deal?_

Morro scowls at her. "This is important!" he snaps. "I need to find out…"

The older clerk shakes her head. "I understand you're busy searching for your sensei," she says, "but we're not going to be any more help to you. The Green Ninja was in here just a few days ago, and we gave him all the information we had."

"Lloyd was here?!" Morro blurts out. Kai presses for control, but Morro doesn't give it up.

_Rule number one!_ Kai yells inside their head. _What's going on?_

"I didn't know," the younger clerk says. "Marge, you should've told me! You know I'm a fan!"

"It was your day off, and he didn't call ahead or anything. I didn't know –" Marge cuts herself off, staring at Morro. "You alright, Red Ninja? You look terrible."

Morro winces and puts a hand to his head.

The next moment, Kai takes a deep breath and forces a laugh. "Sorry," he says. "I'm having a weird head. Headache, I mean. Sorry to bother you, I'll go now."

He turns around and forces himself to the door.

* * *

Outside the library, Kai sits on a bench and crosses his arms. _Rule number one,_ he says to Morro, _when I ask for control, you need to let me have it! What gives?_

_Sorry,_ Morro says. _I got… frustrated._

Frustrated, Kai can believe that. Sorry? Kai doesn't feel any remorse in the emotions emanating from Morro's mind. Anger, mostly. Kai won't lie, he's pretty angry, too.

_You broke a rule,_ he says. _That's reason enough for me to kick you out now._

_I said I was sorry!_

_You don't feel like it,_ Kai says. _Look, I'll give you another chance, and maybe another after that – but three strikes and you're out. This is strike one, bucko._

Morro grumbles wordlessly and doesn't respond.

_So, we gonna break into the basement or what?_

_What?_

* * *

"I can't believe you don't know how to do this," Kai mutters, working the pick into the lock mechanism. "Shouldn't it be standard knowledge for kids like you?"

_I tried to be a good kid,_ Morro says. _Good kids don't pick locks._

"What did good kids do?"

_Steal the key when Sensei wasn't looking._

"The model student." The door creaks open, revealing a dark staircase. Kai glances back into the library, just to make sure the clerks aren't in sight. _Okay,_ he says silently, _We've broken into the library's basement. What were you looking for, again?_

_We haven't broken in,_ Morro says. _We just unlocked the door. We haven't even gone inside._

_So get a move on! It's your two weeks!_

"Oh," Morro says in Kai's voice, and he starts down the stairs.

Morro fumbles in the dark for a few moments before Kai mentally prods him to take his phone out. _You're gonna need light to find the books, dude._

_I know, I just –_ Morro takes out the phone. The screen lights up with a dozen new text messages from Zane. _– oh._

_Ignore those. Here's how you turn the flashlight on…_

Once he has the flashlight working, Morro shines the light on rows and rows of shelves with books kept behind glass windows. Each bookcase is labeled with the year it was presumably written in; Morro walks straight past the first few rows until he finds a year he recognizes.

"Don't see anything about elemental masters here," he mumbles, reading the spines. "This one's not labeled, but… I don't know, maybe this was stupid."

_What do you want to know exactly?_ Kai asks.

_Anything. I don't remember my parents' names, I don't know if I had grandparents – I mean, I must have, but did I ever meet them?_ Morro shakes his head. _I want to know who my ancestors were, where they lived, and… I don't know what else._

He keeps walking down the rows, going farther and father back in the past. When he reaches a hundred years ago, he stops. "This is stupid," he says out loud. "I'm not going to find anything. I'm stupid."

_Hell yeah you are,_ Kai says, _let's get out of this dump and do something actually fun._

Morro grits his teeth. "Being alive's not all about fun, you know," he says. "Sometimes you have to – to suffer, and do things that aren't fun, and –"

_Literally what the fuck are you talking about,_ Kai says.

"You have responsibilities!" Morro snaps. "Everyone does! You have to remember who came before you, and think about who came after. And – and it's awful!"

_Yeah, this imaginary problem you're making up really seems awful._

"It's real! That's what life is about! And –" Morro clenches his fists. "– I want it to be over, I want to free everyone from this cycle, I want to burn all the realms to the ground. If everyone was dead – it wouldn't matter! Nothing would matter anymore!"

Morro's rant is a lot less funny when Kai remembers how close the world came to ruin.

Kai doesn't want to think he forgot what Morro did – no, he could never forget, not after seeing how badly Lloyd was traumatized – but somehow, his opinion of Morro shifted, just a little, away from someone who had nearly ended the world and closer to a sad kid who wanted ice cream, when really, he was both.

_Whatever,_ says Kai. _I'm going to get out of here so you can suffer somewhere else. Give me control._

Morro does. Kai wastes no time in turning around and leaving before the librarians see him.

* * *

On the street, Kai takes a moment to see what Zane's texts are about.

< Kai, what's going on?  
< You didn't tell me you were taking a break.  
< I would like you to call me as soon as you're able to.  
< Hello?  
< Are you alright?

_You should probably answer those,_ Morro says.

_Nah,_ Kai says. He puts his phone back in his pocket and starts walking down the street. _Hey, I have a great idea for the next stop. C'mon, this'll be way more fun than some crappy library._


	6. Beach Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read bucket list

They go to the beach.

"Will it hurt you at all if you touch water while possessing me?" Kai asks. Talking out loud is more natural than talking in his head, and there's no one around to hear him. Probably. He can see a few people further down the boardwalk, but they can't possibly hear him from there.

_No,_ Morro says. _As long as I'm possessing a living person, water won't hurt me._

"Huh. Wonder how that works."

_It's something to do with possessing something that thinks. It won't work if I possess something inanimate._ Kai gets the distinct impression of Morro shrugging. _I don't know, that's just what the others told me. Why are we here?_

"Eh. I wasn't planning on going in the water. No swimsuit, for one." He walks down the steps onto the beach proper and switches to mental communication. _Did you know that after Stiix was wrecked, stuff washed up here for weeks afterwards?_

For a moment, Morro says nothing. Then, _You're lying. Stiix is on the other side of Ninjago, nothing would've gotten over here._

_Huh! I'm surprised you know that._ Kai stops at the edge of the surf, just far enough that the waves don't soak his shoes. _I mean, yeah, it didn't wash up here, but the salvage operation took months. Some of the refugees are still struggling to make a new life for themselves._

_Why are you telling me this?_ Morro asks.

Kai frowns. _What makes you any different from the ghost kid who destroyed Stiix?_

_Uh, nothing?_

_First off, wrong answer. Second, you're lying._ Kai steps back to avoid a larger wave than the others. _You said you were sorry for what you did, so you're obviously a different person now, 'cause the kid who tried to kill me wouldn't have been sorry about it. What's different, now? What changed?_

Morro says nothing for a long few moments. Kai digs his shoe into the sand. "Well?" he says out loud.

_It's hard to tell,_  Morro says. _I don't think I'm a different person. I don't feel like I've changed. But I'm sorry, now. Maybe I was always sorry, because I knew what I was doing was wrong._

"Yet you still did it," Kai says. Morro sounds awfully calm; Kai can't feel any of his emotions.

_I wanted to do the wrong thing. I wanted to defy destiny and make everyone suffer the way I had. But…_ Morro hesitates. _I lost all my power. The Preeminent died. The Cursed Realm died with her. And I looked at what I lost, and… I wanted it back._

"Wanted what back?"

_The good things about ilfe. Things I never got to have, too, like the ice cream. And I realized I would never get what I wanted… so I gave Sensei the Realm Crystal, and I let go._

Kai shrugs. "I dunno, man, it sounds like you changed to me."

_I didn't. Everything else did._

"So if you're still the same person, why did you do it?"

Morro's response comes like all the rest did, calm, no trace of emotion. _She told me it was the only way to get what I wanted._

Kai doesn't have to ask who "she" is.

_Why are you asking me all this?_

Lloyd, Kai thinks, and he immediately shoves the thought down where Morro can't hear it. Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja, the one destined to save Ninjago, and the boy who had nightmares for months after the Preeminent was defeated. If Kai is helping the same person who tortured his best friend, if Morro hasn't changed, if he barely shows remorse…

"No reason," is what Kai says out loud. "Let's check out the movies."

* * *

Out of all the movies playing, Kai chooses the worst one. Not on purpose, but his mind goes numb barely ten minutes past the previews. It's some sort of thriller that he thought would be entertaining, but whoever directed it uses a shaky camera so often Kai has to take effort to comprehend what's going on. He stops trying and lets Morro eat the popcorn while he tries to think of something else to do.

_Could just ditch it,_ he says to Morro. _I mean, are you really so invested in this shit that you wanna stay to the end?_

_The popcorn is good,_ Morro responds.

_We could take the popcorn out of the theater._

Morro pauses mid-chew, as if he's never considered the idea before. Kai laughs inside their minds. _So what d'ya say?_ he asks. _Wanna get out of here?_

_No,_ Morro says. _You can sleep. I'll watch the movie._

_Eh. If you're gonna stay, I might as well see it through to the end._

He ends up ignoring most of the remainder in favor of watching Morro's reactions. The ghost sits in Kai's body and watches the screen with wide eyes, only moving to put more popcorn in his mouth. Kai can't tell what he's thinking, but Morro definitely enjoys the movie more than he let on.

When it's over, he doesn't stand until after the credits. _Liked it, huh?_ Kai comments.

_I don't know._ Morro stuffs his empty bag of popcorn in the trash and hovers beside it for a few moments. _A lot of people threw away their food._

_We're not digging through the trash, Morro._

Morro pulls himself away and walks out of the theater. "What next?" he says out loud.

_Dunno,_ Kai says. _I gotta ask, though, did you like the movie 'cause of the death and violence –_

_I didn't say I liked the movie,_ Morro says, switching to mental communication.

Kai laughs inside their head. _Why're you so defensive? It's just a movie!_

_Yeah,_ Morro says, _it's just a movie. It's not important. I shouldn't like it._

The statement baffles him. _Shouldn't like it?_ Kai repeats. _The fuck are you talking about?_

Morro grumbles and says nothing. A memory appears in the forefront of their mind, and Kai catches the impression of Wu before Morro shoves it down. The pieces click together – _Wu said you couldn't waste your time on distractions, right?_ Kai says.

"We agreed not to talk about him," Morro mutters under his breath.

_Hey, you're using my body, I make the rules. Am I right or what?_

"Whatever," Morro says. _Not like you'd understand,_ he adds silently.

_Dude, he did the same thing to us._

Morro stops walking, standing frozen on the sidewalk while people move around him. _What?_

_Yeah,_ Kai says. _Sensei always told us not to be distracted by frivolous things, to focus on protecting Ninjago. All that stuff. You good?_

_I…_ Morro tangles his hand into Kai's hair, as if he was trying to run his fingers through and forgot it wasn't his own body's hair. _After all these years… he does the same things he did to me?_

Kai thinks about saying something, summons the mental motivation, and hesitates. _Guess he hasn't changed much,_ is what he finally says.

_Did he say you could be the Green Ninja, too?_ Morro says bitterly.

_Not… exactly?_

_No,_ Morro says. _No. You can't be serious._

_He didn't tell any of us we could be the Green Ninja!_ Kai says. _He just said… it could be one of us._

Morro takes a deep breath, in, out. _He didn't change,_ he says in their head. _He didn't learn. I died because of him and he's still doing the same things that got me killed._

Kai scoffs. _You died because you went into the wrong cave, not because –_

_Why are you defending him?_

Though he's not speaking out loud, Morro's voice echoes as a shout from all corners of his mind, and Kai gets the impression of being alone in a dark void. He tries to clap his hands over his ears. It doesn't help. He's about to snap back, say something to make Morro angry, goad him into doing something stupid…

Why is he defending Sensei Wu?

_Sensei…_ Kai hesitates. _He's… important to us, I guess. Most of us would've been homeless without him, y'know?_

_Yeah,_ Morro says, _I do know. So not only is he still picking homeless kids off the street –_

_Shut up and let me finish. He brought us together. Without him, I would never have met Cole, Jay, Zane, or Lloyd. Not Pixal, either. It just would've been me and Nya, forever. I would never have found out what happened to our parents. It's like… Wu connected us to each other, and to everyone else, y'know?_

Morro snorts. _He's still a piece of shit._

_Yeah,_ Kai says, _he is._

His phone buzzes. Morro takes it out of his pocket. It's Zane again.

< Kai, answer me.  
< You're apparently feeling well enough to break into amusement parks.  
< You can take a moment to text me back.

_You should answer him,_ Morro says, _because I'm not going to._

Kai reluctantly takes control and fumbles on the keyboard before successfully sending a text.

sorry bro >  
im fine just tired of searching >  
gonna chill by myself for a week or smth >  
lol >

< A week? That's a bit long, don't you think?

did u get my chill pun >

< Oh, sorry, my humor switch must have been off.

:( >

Zane takes a few moments to respond again. Kai spots a bench on the sidewalk and sits own with a sigh.

< Really, Kai, I don't mind that you're taking a break, but I'd like to be kept in the loop.  
< Neither I nor Pixal knew what you were up to until we asked Jay.  
< And checked the Mega Monster camera feed.

oh SHIT >

< Relax, Kai. It's taken care of.  
< Just let me know when you'll be back, please.

ill keep you updated >  
ok gotta run now >  
love ya >

< Please take care of yourself, Kai.  
< I love you too.

Kai shoves the phone back in his pocket and stands up. _Alright,_ he says to Morro. _That's taken care of. Let's find a place to sleep for the night, it's getting late._

They find a motel. Kai pays for the room without issue. _What now?_ he asks Morro. _You've been awfully quiet._

_I'm fine,_ Morro says. _Just sleep. Your body will tire out faster when you're possessed, so you need more sleep.*_

Kai thinks of how Lloyd could barely walk when Morro finally let him go. _Sure,_ he says. _Goodnight, I guess._

They don't actually get to sleep for another half hour. Kai lies in bed and stares at the ceiling, feeling Morro's presence in the back of his mind. This is fine, Kai tells himself. This is what he wanted, right? A break from his own life. He doesn't have to worry yet about what he's going to tell the ninja, about what he's going to tell Lloyd… right now, he doesn't have to worry about anything.

If only he could make himself believe that.


	7. Time Skip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second warning

"The hell are you doing, Kai?"

Morro fumbles on the arcade machine and his character runs the wrong way and dies. Kai grabs for control of their shared body and swivels them around to face the person glaring at them. "Hey, sis," he says. "What's up?"

Nya narrows her eyes. "Don't play dumb, Kai. You know what this is about."

"I genuinely don't, dude."

"Your break," she says. "It's been a week! Don't you think that's long enough?"

Kai hisses air through his teeth. "I mean, I'm still not feeling that great, I was hoping for a little more time. Two weeks max, though, so –"

Nya jabs a finger at his chest. "You don't get to goof off for two weeks! We have responsibilities! I've been running all over Ninjago, not only looking for Sensei Wu, but chasing after all the criminals who think it's their chance to cause trouble! You heard about the Kryptarium breakout, didn't you?"

"I haven't really been keeping up with the news, lately."

"I noticed! You haven't even spoken to any of us! You –"

Nya stops and looks around. Kai realizes that her shouts have caused most everyone else in the arcade to stop and stare at them. The machine he was using plays a game over jingle. He swallows hard, feeling Morro's anxiety humming in his mind.

"Let's, uh, take this outside," he says.

Nya grabs his arm. "This way," she says, and drags him out of the arcade.

* * *

He hasn't run into the ninja the past few days, so Morro's been spending more time in control. It's nice, in a way – Kai can sit back and think about other things while Morro fumbles through living again and buys more ice cream. They were at the arcade for the third time in just as many days; Morro was dead set – ha! – on getting a high score so he could write his name where other people would notice. Kai had to talk him out of carving it into a tree more than once.

Sure, Kai wasn't really in contact with the other ninja, but it wasn't like they needed to know his every move. He would get back to searching after two weeks. That should've been enough.

"The Mechanic's back," Nya tells him, standing in an alley next to the arcade. "I want you and Zane to track him down."

Kai groans. "It's just one more week! Make Jay do it!"

"Jay's busy! So's Cole!" Nya shakes her head. "Look," she says, "we're all worried about you. No texts, no calls, and honestly? You look like shit, Kai. What have you been doing?"

"That's not really your business, sis."

"You clearly haven't been taking care of yourself, like this break is supposed to be for!"

"Okay," Kai says, "so I'll take another week to eat three meals a day, shower regularly, and practice self-care or whatever, and you all can leave me alone."

He tries to go back out on the street. Nya grabs his shoulder and pulls him back.

"Lloyd's really upset," she says. "You were going to meet up with him last week, and now you're on this break and not even speaking to him. What the hell is going on?"

"God," Kai says, "I don't want to deal with this right now."

The pieces click. _Hey,_ he says inside his head, _I don't have to deal with this right now._

_No,_ Morro says. _No way. This is your sister! She's going to know I'm not you!_

_I'll step in if I need to, alright? I won't let her hurt you._

Morro flares up. _Yeah,_ he says, _didn't you say something like that to Lloyd?_

Kai turns his face away so Nya won't see his anger. _That's strike two, buddy!_

"Seriously, Kai!" Nya shouts. "What's going on? You can't just fuck off and let everyone else deal with your responsibilities! Why are you acting like this?"

She steps closer, and Morro instinctively raises his hands up between them. "I, uh," he starts, stumbles over his words. "I, I just –"

"You can explain on the walk back to the Bounty," Nya says. "I told Lloyd I'd bring you there."

Morro panics. "I don't want to see Lloyd!"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Not your business!" Morro spits out. "I just want to live my life!"

"Newsflash," Nya snaps, "so do the rest of us! And we're worried about you, alright? If you really feel that bad, you don't have to go back to searching right away, but we're not gonna let you isolate yourself any longer!"

She tries to grab him again. Morro jerks away from her and snaps –

"Go away, Water Ninja!"

The next moment, his stomach flips, and Morro takes off running.

" _Kai!_ " Nya screams. Morro keeps going. He pushes the body as hard as it can go, nearly crashing into the people on the street who are slow to get out of his way. When he looks back, he can't see Nya; is she following him? Or is she letting him leave?

Once he reaches the outskirts of the city, Morro summons his dragon without thinking. He pauses when he sees it again – gray skin crumbling like ash, green fire smoldering inside its gut – but it's not enough for him to doubt himself, and he pushes forward. He flies close to the ground, knowing that it would be cause for alarm if someone saw Kai riding a dragon that's not his own, and lets himself breathe.

Where they're going, Kai isn't sure. He doesn't really pay attention after that.

* * *

"Get up."

Morro scrambles to his feet, breathing hard. The other students step back, giving him space to recover – Morro takes the space and lunges, knocking one of them to the ground. He pushes himself up and off and blocks the punch coming from – what's his name? Ray? – and the kick from someone else whose name he doesn't know.

Then someone else shoves him and he falls down.

"Get up," Wu repeats.

His head is spinning. As soon as he's on his feet, Morro is hit in the face by Libber, a name he only remembers because he told her it sounded stupid and she said Morro was stupid and they got in a fight. Wu made them apologize, but neither of them really meant it. Oh, he's on the ground again.

"Get up!"

His legs hurt, and so does the rest of his body, but it's okay, because he's strong and he can take it. Sensei knows that, too. It's why he pushes him so hard. Morro's gonna be important. Morro's gonna be special. Sensei sees "great potential" in him, and he's right 'cause Sensei's right about everything.

"Get up!"

He stands up and falls over.

"I said – oh, no, Morro!"

The other students back away as Wu crouches down by Morro's side. "Are you alright?" he asks, the hard edge gone from his voice. "Have you eaten enough today? You don't always tell me when you're hungry…"

"I'm okay," Morro says. "I can keep training, I promise!"

He tries to stand on his own, but staggers and falls into Wu, who picks him up and slings him over one shoulder. "Training is done for today," he says, raising his voice over Morro's protests. "Morro's not feeling well."

"I'm fine! I'm fine!"

"No, Morro. Maya, could you help with lunch? Take the others with you."

By the time they get outside, Wu deems Morro well enough to stand, if only because the child keeps kicking him. Morro's still dizzy, but he holds Wu's hand and follows him to the outskirts of the monastery.

"One moment," says Wu. "Wait here."

Morro sits on a rock and waits while Wu goes back inside. His sensei reappears a few minutes later, holding a diamond-shaped piece of fabric stretched over sticks.

Morro hops down. "What's this?" he asks, taking it gingerly, looking up back and forth between it and Sensei.

Wu smiles. "It's a kite," he says. "You fly it. Here, I'll show you –"

Inside the monastery, Morro hears the kettle whistling. Wu looks up in alarm. "Sorry, Morro, just a minute!"

He doesn't come back right away. Morro looks at the kite, then up at the sky. This is more training, right? Sensei wouldn't take him out of training just because he fell over.

Morro takes a deep breath, feeling the air flow through him, in, out.

Carefully, he takes hold of the wind and lets it carry the kite up, his brow furrowed in concentration. He's going to be important, he thinks. He's going to be special. And he's going to prove it.

When he returns, Sensei takes him aside and tells him about the prophecy, and Morro knows he can't be anything else.

* * *

_Dude,_ Kai says, _why are we here._

"I want to be alone," Morro mutters. "The other ninja won't find us here."

Kai wordlessly asks for control, and Morro gives it. Kai looks around at the jungle; the ground is damp from what must've been a recent rain, and his shoes are already covered in mud. He takes a few experimental steps forward. "Hiroshi's Labyrinth, right?" he says out loud.

_I think that's what it's called._ Morro responds.

"Supposed to be that anyone who enters never comes out."

_That's not true. I got out._

"Huh," Kai says. "Good for you."

He walks deeper into the jungle, brushing plant life out of his face. There are old gouges in the ground, which is strange, 'cause Kai thought this place had been untouched by humanity for decades. These were clearly made by the wheels of a huge machine, though by now plants and animals have made their homes in the ditches.

_I think there's a waterfall up ahead,_ Morro says.

"Alright."

_It runs from a hill called El Morro. I named myself after it._

Something clicks in Kai's mind. "Wait, your name's Spanish?"

_Yeah._

Kai can't keep a grin from spreading across his face. "I knew it was a word in Spanish, but I never realized – you literally named yourself 'the hill?'"

Annoyance spikes in Morro's mind, and Kai bursts out laughing. Morro grumbles. _Shut up,_ he says. _I didn't have anything better to call myself when Sensei found me, and now everyone knows me as it, so it's not like I could change it._

"I mean, you _could._ "

_I don't want to. It's my name._

Sure enough, there's the waterfall. Morro takes control again to climb to the top of his namesake, sitting down in the muddy grass beside the stream when he reaches the top. _Looks pretty clear,_ Kai says. _Probably comes from melting snow on the mountains._

Morro nods and says nothing.

_Alright,_ Kai says, after a few long moments pass in silence. _We went to Hiroshi's Labyrinth. What next?_

Morro frowns. "I didn't like how you treated your sister," he says. "She is your sister, right?"

_Uh, yeah? I mean, it's not like I did anything, that was all you._

"It didn't feel right. You're supposed to love her."

Kai bristles.  _Literally, I don't need these accusations. I love Nya, I'd give the world to her, but sometimes, I don't want to have her yelling at me. That's it! You're the one who freaked out at her!_

"She thinks it was you," Morro says. "Are you going to tell her otherwise?"

_That's a problem for future me. After the two weeks are up, I'll apologize or whatever, but I don't have to think about it right now._

Morro opens his mouth, but doesn't say anything.

_We're done here,_ Kai says. _Where are we going next?_

Morro hesitates for a long moment. "There is something I want to do," he says, "but I need to ask if it's okay with you first."

Kai laughs inside their head. _It's your two weeks, dude! You don't need my permission as long as it doesn't break any rules!_

"I think I actually do need to ask permission for this one."

_Alright, hit me. What is it?_


	8. Strike Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no more warnings

"Kai! It's so good to see you!"

Morro forces a smile. "Hi, Mom," he says. "Hi, Dad."

Maya ushers him in and Ray immediately starts setting the table. Morro doesn't protest; it's about lunch time, anyway, and Kai's parents had already started making food. Maya resumes stirring the pot and Morro sits down with Ray in the living room.

All Kai can think about is how weird this is.

"How have you been?" Ray asks. "I know you, Nya, and the other ninja have been looking for Wu…"

Morro flinches. "I'm taking a break," he says. "Just… just for two weeks, so… about a week left. I, uh…"

He trails off. Ray nods. "I understand," he says. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard, Kai. Take the time you need."

"How's Nya?" Maya asks from the kitchen. "Is she on a break, too?"

"Not… really, no." Morro swallows. "We had a fight," he says.

"Ah," Ray says. "And you're upset about it, aren't you? You're acting awfully… stiff, I can tell."

Morro nods. Maya comes in from the kitchen and sits on the couch next to him.

"Don't worry, dear," she says. "You and Nya love each other very much, and that means you're willing to tough it through the rough patches when you can't stand each other. Does that make sense?"

"I guess," Morro mumbles. "She's just… upset that I'm taking this break, and… it's hard to face her, right now."

He can't look Maya in the eyes. Kai keeps getting flashes of Morro's memories – Maya, about the same age as him, training under Sensei Wu to unlock her water powers. "Sensei says I have to have them," she says during their lunch break, "and my mom says so, too, 'cause she was the Master of Water before me. But I can't do anything! Maybe they skipped me."

Libber, across the table, laughs. "They don't _skip,_ " she says. "Elemental powers are passed down from parent to child, always! My dad had lightning, but he can't use his powers anymore, so that means I have them!"

"My mom had shadow before me," another girl says – not someone Morro remembers the name of, over fifty years in the future. "Um, I'm still not very good at my powers, but I don't think they skip."

Maya sighs. "I guess I'll get them eventually," she says. "Morro, who did you get your powers from?"

Morro chokes on bread and coughs a lump of it out on the table. "What?" he says.

"Sensei said you're the Master of Wind," Maya says. "Who had those powers before you, your mom or your dad?"

"I…" Morro looks down at the half-eaten lunch Wu put together for him. "Um, I don't know. I don't really remember my parents."

Maya gasps. "Oh, no! Did they die?"

"Yeah, Maya," Libber says. "That's why he lives here, remember?"

"Shut up, Libber," Morro snaps. "I don't know if they died, I just… don't remember them. Um, when Sensei found me, I was all alone."

"That's so sad!" Maya cries.

"It's fine," Morro says. "I know how to use my powers already, and Sensei lets me live with him, so… it's okay."

At the end of the day, Maya and Libber and everyone else go home to their families, and Morro helps Wu make dinner. "Do you know who was the Master of Wind before me?" he asks while Wu chops up vegetables.

Wu pauses mid-chop. "No," he says. "They were… before my time."

"What does that mean?"

"The First Spinjitzu Master, my father, was the one who taught the first elemental masters, but not all of them stayed with him. Most left to start their families and train their descendants on their own. It's only recently, relatively, that the elemental masters have returned here to train with me."

Morro frowns. "So my mom, or dad, or whoever…"

"You are the first Master of Wind I've met. I'm afraid I don't know what became of your family." Wu smiles at him. "But it's alright," he says. "You can stay with me for as long as you need to."

Now Maya has grown up, started her own family, and Morro is stuck as the sixteen year old boy who was trapped in a cave. He only remembers bits and pieces of his early childhood; the jungle, the hill, the hands rubbing the dirt off his face. He doesn't remember who his parents were. All he knows is that one day, he left them, and then Wu took him in.

Kai pulls himself out of the ghost's memories and realizes that Morro's started to cry.

"It's alright," Maya says, letting him cry into her shoulder. "It's alright. Nya will still love you, you know that."

"It's not that," Morro chokes out. "It's – I feel like I'm alone, like nobody loves me, or if they do – that I don't deserve it."

Ray joins them on the couch. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, putting an arm around Morro's shoulder. "We were gone for so long, with no way of knowing if you and Nya were alright…"

Maya hugs Morro, pulling him closer. "We love you so, so much," she whispers. "Every day I wish we could've been there, to raise you and give you the childhood you deserved, and I'm so, so sorry that we've lost that time together."

Morro wails, and Maya and Ray lean in to wrap him in their arms. They stay like that for a long while, Morro sobbing, Maya whispering comforting words, and Ray trembling with the effort of keeping his own tears in. It's only when the smell of burning meat reaches them that they separate.

"I'll be back in a moment, Kai," Maya says, standing up. Morro stares at her blankly as she leaves the room, then shakes his head and wipes his eyes.

"I should go," he says.

"There's no rush," Ray says. "You haven't even eaten yet."

"I, um…" Morro takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I really need to go," he says. "I'll… I'll come back."

"Stay and eat," Maya says from the kitchen. "I'm not accepting no for an answer. Eat and then we'll let you go."

Morro relents. "Okay."

Ray serves him a large bowl, and Morro devours it like he's never going to eat again. Once he's done, it's only at Maya's urging that he rinses it out in the sink – still nervous around water, Kai notices – and says his awkward goodbyes before walking out the door.

* * *

Back in the hotel room, Morro looks in the mirror.

 _Damn,_ Kai says. _I really look like shit._

His hair is greasy and tangled, and there are deep bags under his eyes. Kai hasn't paid much attention to the people telling him he looks awful, but it's impossible to ignore, now. Maybe two weeks was too long, but…

 _I could go,_ Morro says in their head.

 _What?_ Kai says. _Nah, I said two weeks and I meant it._

_The possession is affecting you worse than I thought it would. If I left now…_

_No. It's fine. I can take it._

Morro frowns, and Kai's face moves with him. _If you say so._

_How about we get something to eat and head to bed. Tomorrow we can do some other crap._

_Fine._

* * *

Morro walks into the hotel lobby and freezes.

"Hey, Kai," says Lloyd.

Both Morro and Kai can only stare at Lloyd with wide eyes, their mouth hanging open. _No,_ they think. _No, no, he's not supposed to be here, he's not supposed to know about this, why is he here, why is he here –_

Lloyd frowns and steps away from the receptionist's desk. "Are you alright?" he asks. "Nya said you looked pretty bad, but… you really look bad, Kai. What's going on?"

They stammer incoherently and take a step back. Lloyd takes a step forward. "We're all worried about you," he says. "Well, Nya's mostly pissed, but… please, Kai, can we talk?"

The two of them finally managed to speak. "No," they say. "I… I can't, I –"

"I can tell something's wrong," Lloyd says. "And whatever it is, it's only gonna get worse. I'm not mad, I'm just – I'm really worried. I don't want to lose you, Kai."

"Please," they say, "please, Lloyd, go away."

"No," says Lloyd. "No, Kai, I can't let you do this to yourself."

He takes another step closer, nervous, like he thinks he's cornering a wild animal. "Please, Kai," he says, his voice shaking. "I just want to help you. This isn't like you. This isn't _you._ "

There are tears running down their cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Lloyd," they whisper.

"You don't have to be sorry," Lloyd says. "I can help you. You don't have to go right back to searching, if that's what's wrong. You can take a break for as long as you like. It's gonna be okay, Kai."

He reaches a hand out.

Kai bolts.

Lloyd cries out – Kai ignores him and barrels into the emergency exit, alarms going off behind him. Morro yells at him in their head, but Kai shoves his voice down and keeps running. He doesn't know where he's going. All he knows is that he needs to get as far away as possible before Lloyd finds out what he's done.

His body seizes and he tumbles forward, barely able to throw his arms out to catch himself. He hits his knee and scrapes his palm and winces in pain, rolling onto his side while passersby stop and stare.

 _I'm not doing this anymore,_ Morro says.

"Shut – shut up," Kai spits. "Just two weeks. Then we're done."

_No. It's over now._

Morro stands up, flashes an awkward smile at the people staring, and walks into an alley. He jumps the fence at the end, using the elemental power of wind to carry him when Kai's body refuses, and keeps going to the next alley, putting distance between him and Lloyd. Kai struggles to take control again, screams wordlessly in their head, but Morro doesn't even flinch.

Kai realizes that the only reason he ever had control during his possession was because Morro was holding back.

They reach an abandoned garage. Morro kicks down the barrier and goes down the ramp into darkness, a dim red exit sign glowing in the distance. "We're done," Morro says. "It's over."

And the presence in Kai's head is gone.

Exhaustion hits him like a sledgehammer. Kai gasps and falls to his knees, barely able to look up and meet the ghost's eyes. "No," he says. "You – you can't –"

"The first night," Morro says, "when we were dreaming, you told me I could leave whenever I wanted. This is me leaving."

"I…" His vision wavers. "I can't face them, you have to –"

Morro shakes his head. "No, Kai," he says. "You have people who love you. You have parents, a sister. You have Lloyd. I –" His voice catches. "I'm never going to have any of that. I need to stop pretending."

"You piece of shit –" Kai forces himself to his feet, staggers to the side and puts one hand on the wall. "We can fucking talk about this, just – don't _go._ "

Morro smiles. "God," he says. "God, I want to stay. I want to have ice cream and go back to the arcade and push your body to its limit. I want to feel like I'm alive again, but I'm not, and I never will be. I'm sorry, Kai."

"Shithead –"

Morro turns away and pauses, looking back over his shoulder.

"Goodbye," he says, and he walks into the darkness.

"Fucker!" Kai yells. "Come back! This isn't over! I can't – I can't go back like this, I – I –"

He sobs. His legs give out and he hits the ground hard. He tries to pick himself up again and only succeeds in rolling himself on his back. His head is spinning, and he can't see Morro anymore, can barely see anything in the darkness.

All he sees is the horror on Lloyd's face before blacking out.


	9. Worst Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one chapter left after this! have fun!

Kai wakes up with his head pounding like something's trying to get out. He allows himself amusement at the metaphor – there's no one else in there, dummy! He's all alone now!

"Kai?"

Though maybe not as alone as he'd like to be.

Kai groans and sits up, blinking his eyes open. He's in his room on the Bounty, he notes, lying in… this is Jay's bed, actually. Makes sense; Kai has the top bunk, and no one would want to lug an unconscious body all the way up there.

"Hey, sis," he croaks, half-smiling at Nya's concerned expression. "How's it going?"

"Shut up, Kai," Nya says. "You were possessed. Do you remember anything of the past week?"

_Shit,_ Kai says inside his head, before remembering there's no one there to speak to. "Uh," he says out loud, his sluggish mind desperately searching for a way out. "Give me a minute, I feel like crap."

Nya steps back from the bed. "Take your time," she says. "Just… not too long, alright? If there's a ghost on the loose, we need to deal with them as soon as possible."

"Where's Lloyd?"

"Oh," Nya says, "he's… not doing great. I think seeing you like this reminded him of Morro."

Kai doesn't want to be here. He wants to go back to his break from existing, let someone else decide what his body does. But Morro's gone, and he shouldn't have been possessing him in the first place, and Kai doesn't know how he's going to deal with the fallout.

Nya drags a chair over and sits down next to him. "Look," she says, "I don't blame you for what happened while you were possessed. I just… we really need to know everything about the ghost who did it. Did they tell you their name? Was it anyone we know?

"I… don't know," he says carefully. "I… he was just… God, I don't even remember much of the past week. Did I do anything weird?"

"You yelled at me, but… I dunno, do you remember breaking into the amusement part with Jay?"

Kai pulls a face. "I hung out with Jay? Damn, I really was possessed."

"This isn't the time for jokes, Kai."

"He's lying."

Both Kai and Nya turn to the door.

Lloyd stands there, his arms crossed, his mouth set in a hard line. "You're lying, Kai," he says. "You remember what happened, don't you?"

Kai's stomach churns. "Lloyd, buddy –"

"What's going on?" Nya asks.

"I was there when the ghost left." Lloyd steps into the room. "I saw who it was. And Kai – he was talking to him, like – like he didn't want him to leave! Like he wanted to be possessed!"

"It's not what you think, Lloyd, I –"

"Shut up." Lloyd drops his arms to his side, his hands clenched into fists. "You told him not to go. You were – you were practically begging him. What could he possibly have that you want so badly?!"

Nya stands up. "Calm down, Lloyd. I know this is tough for you, but –"

"It was Morro!" Lloyd shouts. "Kai was possessed by Morro! And – and he – oh God –"

Kai buries his face in his hands, refusing to look at Lloyd or Nya. He can hear their voices, but he can't make out the words. All the noise overlaps to become incomprehensible, and finally, Kai passes out again.

* * *

Nya is far less patient with him when when he wakes up again. "Explain," she says.

Kai rubs his forehead. "Okay," he says. "I just…"

No more excuses. He has to tell the truth.

He swallows. "Okay," he says again. "I… Morro possessed me, about a week ago, and, well, I let him."

* * *

He spots Lloyd in the doorway midway through explaining. Kai falters, stumbles over his words. "No," Lloyd says. "Keep going. I want to hear everything."

So Kai tells them everything. The ice cream, the amusement park, the arcade. How he wanted a break from his life. How Morro wanted to live. How they made rules, how Morro obeyed them, for the most part. He litters apologies between every sentence – "I'm sorry," Kai says. "I know I shouldn't have done it, I just… everything was too much. Life was too much. It's not like I was suicidal or anything, I just… wanted to stop making the hard choices for a while."

"So it was Morro who called me Water Ninja," Nya says.

Kai winces. "Yeah. I, uh, made him take control 'cause I didn't want to deal with you yelling at me."

Nya takes a deep breath. "I really want to slap you," she says. "But that won't fucking solve anything, will it? What the hell, Kai!"

"I'm sorry," Kai repeats.

"You better be!" Nya looks back at the door. "Lloyd, are you alright?"

Lloyd shakes his head, then says, "I'm fine," and straightens up. His shoulders are trembling. "We need to find Morro."

"Wait," Kai says. "He didn't –"

"I don't want to hear anything from you," Lloyd snaps. "He's dangerous! We need to find him and get rid of him! Nya, come on."

Nya blinks. "What?"

"We need to go, Nya. You're the Master of Water."

Kai tries again. "The worst he did –"

"You know _damn well_ what the worst he did was!" Lloyd shouts.

"Wait!" Nya puts herself between Kai and Lloyd. "Let's wait for the others to get back."

"Oh God," Kai says, "did you tell everyone?"

"Yes, Kai. We'll wait for them to get back, and then we'll decide what to do." Nya takes out her phone. "Zane should be here soon, but Cole and Jay were farther, so they'll be a little longer."

"Cool," Kai says. "I'm gonna eat something."

His strength has returned at this point, and even if it hadn't, he wasn't about to ask anyone to bring him food. He gets out of bed and stands up straight. Lloyd moves to let him pass through the door. They don't say a word to each other. Kai can hear him saying something to Nya before he's too far away.

Kai has no idea what time it is. He decides it's close enough to breakfast and grabs a random box of cereal out of the cabinet. It's only when he pours it that he realizes it's sugary cereal, more sugary than Wu normally lets them buy – who would have bought this, now that Wu is missing? Cole? Jay? Lloyd? Oh God, is he eating Lloyd's cereal? God, what a fucking ass he is, eating Lloyd's cereal after letting Morro take a joyride in his body –

Zane finds him sobbing in front of the counter, surrounded by spilled cereal.

"Oh, Kai," Zane says, and he puts a hand on his back, moving it up and down in calm, slow motions. "It's going to be alright, Kai."

"No it's fucking not!" Kai shouts. He collects himself a moment later and wipes his eyes. "I fucked up," he says, lowering his voice. "I fucked up so bad. I hurt Lloyd. I hurt Nya. I hurt _you._ God, I think I hurt Morro, too, and I was trying to be fucking _nice_ to him. I wish I was –" He catches himself. "– no, I don't wish I was dead, I wish… God, I don't know, I just –"

"Shh." Zane continues rubbing his back. "We're all here. We can heal. You're going to be alright."

Kai screws up his face and stares at the counter, watching his tears fall. His hands are sticky and covered in cereal dust and all he can think of is how Morro had free reign over his body that first day and all he fucking did was put sugar in cereal that didn't need it. Dumbass should've gone and done something that _mattered._

"I'll clean this up," Zane says. "Go sit down."

Kai obeys, glad to have someone else telling him what to do. He sits at the table and buries his face in his hands, pressing his fingers against his eyeballs and watching streaks of color flash in his vision. He barely notices when a bowl is placed in front of him, only looking up when Zane gently nudges him.

"The fuck is this?" Kai says, staring at what is obviously chicken soup.

"I heated up the leftover soup," Zane says. "I don't know how old it is, but it should still be edible. You need to eat, Kai."

Kai wants to argue. Instead, he takes the spoon Zane has helpfully placed with the bowl and starts eating. Zane pulls out a chair and sits next to him.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asks.

"No," Kai says.

"You'll have to, sooner rather than later."

"I already told everything to Lloyd and Nya. Do I have to tell everything again?"

"I would rather hear it from you than from them."

Kai focuses on the soup.

"Kai, you're not stupid," Zane says. He politely ignores Kai's derisive snort and continues with, "You would never have given Morro the time of day if you thought he would harm someone with it. What made you give him your body?"

"He apologized," Kai mumbles.

"What?"

"He said he was sorry," he says, a little louder. "And he… he was so damn sad, and he didn't do anything after I blacked out other than get breakfast. I thought…" Kai sighs. "I was stupid. I am stupid, no matter what you say."

Zane shakes his head. "Finish your soup, Kai," he says. "Cole and Jay will be here soon."

* * *

Eventually, all of them arrive.

"Hang on," Jay says, once they're all seated at the kitchen table. "So when Kai and I hung out at the amusement park –"

"When you broke into the amusement park," Cole grumbles. "Without me!"

"Yeah, yeah. Was I talking to Morro that whole time?!"

Kai rolls his eyes. "No, that was mostly me."

"'Mostly?!'"

"We don't need a play-by-play, guys," Nya says. "Morro and Kai were sharing a body. We don't need to know who did each individual action."

"We're wasting time," Lloyd grumbles. "Morro could be anywhere, maybe even possessing someone else, and we need to get rid of him!"

Kai looks down at the table. He knew this would happen, after all. Morro did a lot of horrible things, to Lloyd especially, and to the rest of Ninjago; the citizens of Stiix aren't going to forget that their town was destroyed. The only thing that's changed is now Kai feels bad for him, despite everything he's done. What could Morro say to make up for that? What could Kai say?

Lost in his own thoughts, Kai almost doesn't notice Zane frowning.

"Should we really get rid of him?" Zane asks.

Lloyd slams his fists on the table, making everyone but Zane flinch. "Yes!" he shouts. "You know what Morro did! He could be doing worse!"

"I know what Morro did, yes," Zane says. "I also know that, even while possessing Kai, Morro did not do anything more dramatic than yell at Nya."

"So?" Lloyd glares at him. "Are we just going to sit around and leave him alone?"

"No. We should find him as soon as possible. I do not believe we should, as you say, get rid of him unless he proves a threat."

Lloyd stands up. Nya stands with him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd," she says, "I know you're upset, but Zane has a point. Plus, we still don't know how he got here – for all we know, soaking him could just send him back to the museum."

"Uh," Cole says. "Can I say something?"

Everyone looks at him. Cole swallows hard, but when Lloyd nods, he takes a deep breath. "On the Day of the Departed," he says, "the reason you all knew where to find me… was because Morro told Wu what was going on. I… don't know what would have happened to me if he hadn't. I don't think we should ignore that he helped us back then."

Lloyd sucks in a harsh breath through his nose. "So what do you want to do?" he says. "What are we supposed to do?"

No one answers. Jay coughs.

"Fine," Lloyd says. "We need to find him. You guys go; I'm staying here. Do whatever you want when you find him, but don't bring him back here. I don't want to see him ever again."

Kai manages a smile. "Lloyd," he starts.

Lloyd cuts him off before he can continue. "You'd better hurry," he says looking Kai in the eye. "I heard it's gonna rain."


	10. New Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end, folks. hope it satisfies

There aren't many places to hide from the rain up here. Kai adjusts his grip on his umbrella and makes sure he still has the second, folded umbrella under his arm. It's not thundering, which is great, 'cause he would've made the trip either way but now he won't get struck by lightning, but the rain is hard and incessant. Kai is already damp even with the umbrella.

He takes a deep breath and continues the walk up the stairs.

The ruins of the monastery are quiet. All Kai can hear is the pitter-patter of rain. The area is foggy and hard to see. Kai takes another breath and walks closer, straining his eyes for any sign of glowing green. He checks every overhang, every place where the burnt logs block the rain, but there are no dry spots; water has pooled in the places where rain doesn't fall, and Kai is starting to think he got here too late.

Another sound reaches his ears, a faint _hiss._ Kai assumes it's tinnitus at first, then realizes it's getting louder and softer as he moves. He follows it to a spot he had overlooked, thinking it wouldn't provide enough cover.

Morro huddles on a broken board, curled in on himself to keep his limbs out of the surrounding puddle. Above him is a dense net of vines stretched between poles, with a few boards trapped between the leaves, but it's not enough to stop water from dripping down, hissing when it hits his ghostly body. He doesn't react when Kai walks up to him, nor when an umbrella is unfolded and placed above him. Kai sucks in air through his teeth and crouches down, breathing a sigh of thanks when Morro's body is tangible. He's awfully light, but then again, he's a ghost. Should probably be expected.

Morro shudders and moves. The sudden motion makes Kai think he's about to be possessed again – but no, Morro wraps his arms around him and presses his face into his chest.

Kai laughs. "Damn," he says. "You feeling alright?"

No response. There are spots of lighter green covering Morro's body where the droplets hit him, like little burns.

"Cool," Kai says. "Let's go."

* * *

Though he abandoned the spare umbrella at the ruins, carrying the one he kept and Morro both proves to be a struggle. Morro weighs almost nothing, the problem is positioning the umbrella so he stays dry. The ghost is trembling, and Kai is pretty sure ghosts don't feel the cold.

"Y'know," Kai says, after nearly dropping the umbrella, "this would be a lot easier if you possessed me."

Morro says nothing. He hasn't spoken since Kai found him.

"Goddamn. Fine. I'll just lug your shitty ghost body around in the rain. Suit yourself."

He doesn't have a spare hand to knock on the door, so he kicks it until it opens. "Kai?" Ray says, his eyes falling on Morro and back to Kai's face. "What's going on?"

"Long story," Kai says, shouldering his way past him. "Do you have, like, a towel or something?"

* * *

"So when you came to visit us –" Maya starts.

"Wasn't me," Kai says. "It was Morro's idea, and I let him have control on for the visit. Not that I, like, don't love you or anything, I'd love to see you on a normal day when I'm not possessed, but back then, I was possessed."

He glances to the side. Morro sits on the couch next to him, hugging his knees to his chest. He still hasn't said a word, but at least he's not, like, unconscious or something. Kai doesn't know if ghosts can lose consciousness, so it would probably be bad if Morro did.

Ray sighs. "How do the other ninja feel about this?" he asks.

"Oh, they're super pissed. Nya especially." Kai laughs. Neither of his parents do so much as smile.

"I heard what Morro did," Maya says. "Even as far away as we were… is everyone else okay with what you're doing now?"

"Yeah, of course," Kai says. "Lloyd sent us out to look for him, and what d'ya know, I found him. Still haven't figured out what we're doing next, but… hey, ghosty, any ideas?"

Morro turns his head and stares at him. "Cool," Kai says. "Mom, Dad, do you mind if he stays here for a while? Lloyd doesn't want him back at the Bounty."

Maya inhales sharply. "I'm sorry, Kai," she says, "but you must know you're asking a lot of us. Morro destroyed a town, tried to kill many, many people – tried to kill _you,_ from what Nya's told us."

Kai blinks. "When did Nya tell you that?"

"One of the times she came to see us," Ray says. "Something you, apparently, only do when you're possessed."

"Well, fuck," Kai says without thinking.

Morro is back with his head in his knees, unmoving. The marks where the water hit him have faded, which Kai thinks is a good sign. He watches him while he searches for something to say to his parents, and then tears well up in his eyes and he turns away and covers his face.

"Goddammit," he mumbles into his hands. "Why does life have to suck this much?"

"Oh, Kai," Maya says, her voice shaking. "When we saw you… how much were you there for? How much did you hear?"

"Fucking all of it," Kai says. "You love me and you wish you could've been here for me – but you know what? You weren't. I know it's not your fault, but I need someone to blame for how I turned out, y'know? The only people around were me and Nya, and I –" His voice catches. "I can't blame Nya. I'm the reason I'm so fucked up."

"This was never about me, was it?"

Kai drops his hands and looks at Morro. The ghost unfolds his limbs and stands up. "I thought it was," he says. "I thought you saw something in me, but…"

"I didn't see anything in you, moron," Kai says. You're transparent. I can see right through you."

Morro shakes his head. "I should've left a lot sooner," he says. "It's not as if we could ever be friends."

Kai bursts out laughing. "Us? Friends? We're so damn bad for each other, dude. We'd be the worst friends."

Ray coughs, and Kai remembers that his parents are right here, staring at him. He clicks his tongue. "Look," he says to Morro, "I just need you to stay here for a while until I tell the others I found you. Then we'll… I dunno, we'll figure out where to go from there."

"No," Morro says.

"The hell do you mean, no?"

Morro glares at him. "I said we were done, Kai," he says. "This never had anything to do with me. You were just using me to hurt yourself."

"I wasn't hurting myself!" Kai exclaims. "I told you, I just wanted a break!"

"I don't care what you wanted," Morro says, his voice dropping to a dangerous pitch. "I didn't want to be a part of it."

"Morro," Maya says, and the ghost jerks his head to stare at her with wide eyes. "From what Kai has told us, you wanted to be a part of… whatever happened, at least at first. What made you change your mind?"

Morro drops his head down again. "I don't know," he says. "I… I haven't changed. I don't think I can change. But when I realized what Kai was doing to himself, I… I realized that I didn't want it anymore. I wanted to be a better person than what I am now. I wanted to change."

"Do you still want to change?" Ray asks.

"It doesn't matter," Morro says. "I'm stuck like this forever. Can I go now?"

Kai shakes his head. "You're going to have to stay here for a while, dude," he says. "I mean, you can't go to the Bounty, so –"

"Kai." Ray frowns at him. "We didn't agree to this."

"I know, but –"

Maya sighs. "No, Kai," she says. "Morro clearly doesn't want to be here, and we're not going to force him to stay."

"Mom!"

"If he wanted to stay, then we would let him," Ray says. "But he doesn't. You need to work out something else."

Kai clenches his fists. "Fine," he says. "Fine. We'll go as soon as it stops raining."

* * *

Maya has graciously loaned Morro a pair of shoes so his feet don't get wet in the damp grass. Kai's at least thankful he doesn't have to carry him again. Instead, he grabs Morro's hand and pulls him away, walking until they're out of sight of the house, alone on the road.

"What now?" Morro asks.

"Look," Kai says, "I can't take you back to the Bounty, and I'm pretty sure my parents are calling Nya right now. We've gotta get moving."

Morro shoots a glare at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you if you don't tell me where," he says.

"Honestly? I don't know where."

"Then why am I still here?"

"Because I'm not letting you go off by yourself and get killed – and don't give me that look. Yeah, you're dead, but you're still here, and if you touch water you won't be here anymore. That's deader than you are now."

Morro pulls his hand away. "Then at least tell me _why,_ " he snaps. "You shouldn't care about me. I don't have to tell you what I've done. Or do you need the reminder?"

Kai takes out his phone. He has a few missed messages, but nothing from Lloyd, not yet.

"You were right," he says, "and I was wrong. I didn't know it at the time – hell, not until a few minutes ago – but I really was just… using you. I wanted a break from life, and I kept trying to tell myself that wasn't as bad as it sounded, but y'know? It really was. I was hurting myself, and I wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry, Morro. I'm going to make it right."

"'Right,'" Morro echoes. "Right how?"

Kai grins at him. "Look," he says, "I'm really fucked up, like, mentally. I keep doing the same things over and over like it's gonna help, but something has to change. I…" His voice shakes. He coughs and tries again. "I can't go back, not yet. I need to take responsibility for my own life, and I wanna start by taking responsibility for you."

"What the fuck?"

"You hurt a shitton of people, Morro. I don't need you to remind me of it. Do you really think you can make up for it by fucking off and dying? Come with me. We can both be better people."

Morro takes a step back. "This is what I didn't want to do," he says. "You need to go back. You have friends. You have a family. You have people who love you."

"Yeah, well, you've got at least one of those things, dumbass. Maybe two." Kai's smile falters. "C'mon. If not this, what do you want?"

Morro shakes his head. "We've already established that what I want hurts people."

"We didn't establish shit." Kai groans. "Look," he says, "I know I hurt you, Morro, and I'm sorry. I really am. I'm gonna try to be different. I won't isolate myself, I'll meet up with the others as often as I can, I just –" He tries to wipe his eyes and hits himself in the forehead instead. How the hell did he fuck that up? "I just can't go back to searching and pretending that everything's normal, that I'm not fucked in the head, that I can function like a normal goddamn person. I can't go back like that."

"That doesn't have anything to do with me."

Dammit, he really is crying. Kai smiles through his tears. "We don't have to hurt each other anymore," he says. "No more possession. No more rules. You said you haven't changed – but you have, Morro. We can help each other."

He holds out his hand. Morro stares at it.

"You can walk away," Kai says, and we'll never see each other again. I won't chase you. I won't force you. If I think about all the things you did to Lloyd, I probably won't even miss you too much. Is that what you want, Morro?"

Morro turns away. Just above the horizon, sunlight peeks through the clouds, and the rainwater is evaporating off the grass in the warmth.

"Sensei took me to the beach, once," he whispers. "I was still a child. He had to pull me out of the water when I went too far. I always wanted more than I could have. Now I can't even be out in the rain. I'm never going to eat ice cream again. I'm never going to grow up. I'm never going to move on. I'm never going to be more than what I am."

"You're still here, aren't you?" Kai says. "You know what they say – showing up is half the battle. Make up your mind, dude, my arm's getting tired."

Morro meets his eyes and takes a step towards him.

"What are you going to tell Lloyd?" he asks.

"The truth," Kai says.

Morro takes another step. "He's not going to like that."

"He'll like it more than lying."

"What about the others?" He's right in front of him, now, close enough that Kai could take his hand himself.

"Like I said, I'm not gonna isolate myself. You'll have to put up with seeing them every now and then. That a dealbreaker?"

Morro slowly lifts his arm and rests his hand in Kai's. "Do you really think it's worth it?" he says. "To keep going, even if it feels hopeless? Even if I'll never be able to live like everyone else?"

"Y'know," Kai says, "I ask myself that every goddamn day. Can't say I have an answer, but it'd suck to go through it alone."

Morro gives Kai's hand a weak squeeze. "Then I'll stay with you," he says. "But we both have to get better. Don't use me to hurt yourself again."

Kai laughs. "I can't promise I won't fuck up, but I'll try not to. Now c'mon – it's getting late, and we're gonna have to pull the ninja card at another crappy motel, 'cause I'm out of cash."

* * *

His phone rings when they're settling into the room. Kai almost ignores it, but he just told Morro he was trying to get better, so he stares at the caller ID, takes a deep breath, and answers.

"Hey," he says.

"You're with him, aren't you?"

Kai glances at Morro, who's pretending to be very interested in the peeling wallpaper. "Yeah," he says. "Sorry."

Lloyd chuckles. "I guess I can't really argue with whatever you see in him," he says. "After all, you looked at a bratty little kid and saw the person who would save Ninjago."

Kai grips his phone hard enough to hurt. "I'm sorry," he repeats. "You're… you're basically the most important person in my life, okay? You're up there with Zane and Nya. I'm… I'm sorry I made you think you were less than that."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you want to say. I'm the one apologizing, dude. I don't get to ask anything from you."

"Okay," Lloyd says. "Well, it hurts, Kai. I don't understand what you're doing, and it hurts, and I wish you weren't doing it."

"I'm –"

Lloyd interrupts him. "No, Kai, it's fine. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean you have to apologize for it. You said you would come back, and you answered your phone, so I believe you. That's what matters. You'll come back."

Kai manages a smile. "You can visit, you know. I'll tell him to fuck off for a day and we can hang out, like we were gonna last week."

"That'd be nice."

"Yeah," Kai says. "Yeah."

The sound distorts for a second; Lloyd must be moving on the other end. "I'm gonna go," he says. "I'll talk to you later, alright, Kai?"

"Yeah, of course. Talk to you later, bro."

Lloyd hangs up. Kai stares at his phone and tucks it back in his pocket. "I'm gonna head to bed," he says to Morro. "Make sure you hide if anyone comes in."

"The door is locked," Morro says. "If anyone comes in, I get to scare them off."

"Alright, sure. Don't do anything weird while I'm asleep."

"No promises."

"God, you're a little shit, aren't you?"

Morro cracks a smile. "You said no rules this time. I get to do whatever I want."

"Yeah, okay. Goodnight, jackass."

Kai kicks off his shoes and climbs into bed with all his clothes on. Outside he can hear cars honking and sirens blaring in the distance. The city lights glow even through the curtains.

He sighs.

Maybe tomorrow will be a good day.

**THE END**


End file.
